The dragon represents a power from which come forth unclean teachings at the time of the end: “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet” (Revelation 16:13). The dragon first appears in Revelation 12: “And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads” (v. 3). In Revelation 12 the dragon represents pagan Rome, with the seven heads relating to the seven hills of Rome (17:9) and the horns representing countries over which Rome ruled.
In Ezekiel 29 Pharaoh is likened to a dragon: “Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself” (v. 3). It may well be that the crocodile is the particular creature being referred to in this passage, an animal which formed the basis for one of the Egyptian gods. Previously the Egyptians had sought to kill the Israelite male children at birth (Exodus 1:16). This is similar to the way the dragon seeks to destroy a child at birth in Revelation 12: “and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born” (v. 4), signifying the way the pagan rulers tried to prevent the ‘Christian’ Constantine becoming emperor. This similarity between Egypt and pagan Rome is no doubt one reason why pagan Rome is symbolised by a creature previously used of Egypt.
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Author: The Testimony
Keywords: Dragon
Bible reference(s): Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 51:9, Ezekiel 29:3, Ezekiel 32:2, Revelation 12:3, Revelation 12:4, Revelation 12:7, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 12:13, Revelation 12:16, Revelation 12:17, Revelation 13:2, Revelation 13:4, Revelation 13:11, Revelation 16:13, Revelation 20:2, Bel and the Dragon 1, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus 25:16
Source: “A-Z,” The Testimony, Vol. 74, No. 881, May 2004, pg. 166.
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